My Baby Brother
by Sawyerslover
Summary: Sam may have gone off to college..But Dean will always be there for his brother no matter what. Hurt/Sam Protective/Dean Warnings: Language. Please read and review!


Disclaimer: I own nothing :(

"D-Dean.."

"Sammy? What is it? What's wrong?"

Dean had been lying in his bed in the crappy motel room him and his father had shacked up at for the night. He had been half asleep when his phone started to vibrate on the side table where it was laying. Looking down, Dean was shocked to see it was his brother. Sam had left them a few months ago to run off to college and rarely called him unless it was a monthly check of "How are you?". Glancing, at the clock Dean saw it was 3a.m. That was the first sign that something was not right.

"Sammy, answer me?" Dean questioned, running a hand over his sleepy face. He could hear his brother sharp and short breaths which made him sit up even straighter and start to worry more.

"I…" Sam was obviously trying to sound close to normal, but the way his voice kept trying to speed up on him let Dean know he wasn't nearly as okay as he was hoping Sam would be. Sam sounded a step away from panicked. "I don't really know where I am, and it's getting cold, and I thought I wouldn't need my jacket, because it was just supposed to be a little walk across campus, but then, then they…I got caught up with some friends…but they left me..and I don't know."

"Sammy. Slow down. What are you talking about?" Dean asked hurriedly, trying to keep his voice low so he did not wake up his father.

"Please help me, Dean."

"Sam. Hey, calm down, ok? You're outside?"

"Yeah. I just…I need a ride. I'm sorry, Dean. I would've called a cab, but…"

"Sam, no, you're fine. You're okay. I'm glad you called. Tell me what you see."

"It's really dark out here, man."

"Look hard. I'm going to come find you. I promise. Give me a point of reference."

Dean could practically hear him nod. He was trying hard, but boy, he sounded scared. "Okay. Right. Um, there's a water tower, I think. It's down the street from where I am. I can't see if there's anything written on it though. There's a phone booth near me. And there's a bunch of real old buildings with rated R graffiti. They look mostly vacant, kinda like where you'd think drug dealers would come to do business. Drug dealers and murderers."

Dean smiled. He would have laughed out loud if his brother didn't sound so terrified.

"Hey, Sam, you're going to be fine. All right? You hear me? You're going to be okay."

"Yeah. I hear you."

"Okay, you said you're near a phone booth?"

There was a pause as Dean was pretty sure Sam nodded and then remembered he couldn't see him. "Yeah. I am. I think I'm a couple of miles from the campus."

"All right, I think I know where you are. Get in the booth and try to stay warm. Stay put and wait for me. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"You…really will? How close are you and dad?"

"Dad and I just got done on a hunt a couple of hours from here. We're at a motel for the night."

"Oh.."

Dean was his only option. He realized it right then. He would only call Dean because he literally had no one else to call. And Dean knew that if he didn't show up… Geeze. What if him and dad hadn't been in town? That thought scared Dean way more than he was willing to admit. "You have my word. I'll be there."

"Okay. Dean, if you could hurry…?"

"I'm on my way out the door."

"Right. Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

"Of course Sammy. I'm used to taking care of my pain in the ass little brother." Dean then pulled on a pair of jeans and his jacket and then grabbed an extra coat out of the closet.

"Okay. I'll see you in twenty, then. And I am really sorry."

"Not your fault. Concentrate on keeping yourself warm, okay bitch?"

"Alright, Jerk."

After Sam hung up, Dean grabbed the keys to the Impala and practically ran out of the motel. Once inside the car Dean tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, backed out and pushed down harder on the gas than any officer of the law would've appreciated. His baby brother was out there alone in one of the worst parts of this town that he knew of. That did not happen.

It _was_ cold outside. Dean didn't feel it, though. Because inside, he was boiling.

Spnspnspnspnspnspnspnspn

_Sam_

I hung up the phone and rubbed some of the fog off the widow of the booth, looking down the road, like Dean's car would magically appear. I really, really hoped Dean would hurry, because if he didn't..I was as good as dead. I probably should have called Jess. But for some reason, when I pulled out my phone Dean was the name I automatically went to. Dean has always taken care of me. Even though I left..and I know a part of him hates me for it, I know Dean will always be there. And that makes everything a lot better.

I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself again. I figured I should probably move around if I wanted to keep from freezing. So I left the booth and started pacing a few steps each way on the sidewalk beside the or fifteen minutes went by until my lungs told me to knock it off, and I figured they were right. I probably shouldn't be moving around that much. I just had to sit down and pray that Dean would hurry up. I hated being dependent on people. It very seldom worked out in my favor. _Like you really have a choice this time. _Suddenly fear hit my stomach. I really hope Dean did not wake up dad and bring him along. I know dad resents me for leaving and never wants to see me again.

I sat down on the curb and wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my chin on my knees as a particularly hard gust of wind tore through the fabric of my sweater like it was nothing. Okay, new plan. Sit down and wait inside nice, sheltered, rusty old phone booth. I stood and was about to implement the aforementioned brilliant plan, when I saw something move in the shadows to my left.

No, that was still stupid. Nobody was out here. Not now. Hoping it was nothing supernatural either, my logic was very cruelly ripped to shreds as a man stepped out of the alleyway. He was mostly shadow, but I could make out the rough edges of his coat and the tattered knit cap on his head. He stood maybe 6'1", 185. I froze, my hand on the door to the booth as my heart sped up. _Don't be stupid; don't be stupid; don't be stupid, _I told myself over and over. My mind kept jumping to conclusions, and none of which I particularly wanted to conclude. He probably didn't even realize I was there.

Then as his head turned and eyes landed unmistakably on me, he spoke with a voice that made my heart drop into my stomach, "You lost or something, sonny?"

I took a step back, shaking my head quickly, lungs jerking in my chest. "I-I've got a ride coming. Thanks."

His yellow teeth glinted in the faint glow of the streetlight as he slowly looked up then down the street. "I don't see no ride, son."

I didn't wait another second. I tore down the street as fast as my legs would go. My feet were pounding on the pavement, lungs tearing across my ribcage with every cold intake of breath I took, and I thought my heart would explode out my ears. I heard the guy's footsteps running behind me as he shouted the kind of words that were spray painted across the sides of those dead buildings, and my vision got blurry. _No, no, no, no! _

I couldn't stop. Couldn't stop. No option. Go, legs, go. Oh, please, God, help. God, help me, please! I couldn't breathe. I was running, and I couldn't really breathe. Please don't let me pass out!

I turned around the corner and smacked straight into something that was hard and soft at the same time and felt arms tighten around me, squeezing right at that spot my friend had earlier punched me in my side. I let out as much of a scream as my lungs would allow, and it came out all hoarse and pathetic, but I was not gonna give up. No, I struggled against those arms for all I was worth. Terror fueled my muscles as I fought hard for all of three seconds before I heard the voice.

"Sammy! Hey! Calm down, it's me!"

I stopped fighting and all but collapsed, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a terrified sob. It's a sound I would love not to ever make ever again.

Spnspnspnspnspnspnspnspn

_Dean_

I stood there for a moment, arms full of my baby brother, when a man came running around the corner. He stopped when he saw me, and a horrible feeling dropped into my stomach. I let go of Sam and pulled the wide-eyed kid behind me.

"You got a problem?" I fairly hissed, hand moving to my back pocket for the knife I keep there. The man's eyes looked me up and down. Apparently he didn't like his odds against both of us.

He held up his hands and said with fake innocence, "No problem, man. No problem." He let his eyes linger on Sam behind me for a moment, with a look that made my stomach knot before turning and walking away. I watched him go to make sure he wasn't coming back before turning to look at Sam in time to see the kid lean back against the side of the brick building and slide down until he was sitting on the ground, his breaths coming in short, terrified gasps.

I stepped closer and went to touch his shoulder, try to help him, but he shrank back from me, "Don't touch me," he wheezed. "Dean..Just don't…I…give me a minute." He was shaking all over, hair sweaty and sticking to his forehead. He was trying to slow his breaths, but it wasn't working, and he started clutching at his chest, eyes filling up with tears from pain and fear. I didn't give him anywhere close to a minute.

I reached down and hauled him up onto his feet. "Come on." He didn't resist as I led him to the Impala, which was parked a few yards away right in front of a phone booth. Turns out I was one street off. Not knowing the exact time-table, I'm still not sure if that fact saved his life, or if it's the one that put him in so much danger. I nearly tore the rear right door off my car as I yanked it open. Pushing Sam into the backseat, I followed suit, sliding in next to him, grabbing up the extra coat, thanking God I'd thought to bring it. I wrapped it around his shoulders. His breathing was getting really bad. "Sammy, just breathe."

Sam worked a little contraption out of his pocket. _An inhaler? Since when did my brother need an inhaler? _I thought as anger and fear rushed through me. He started sucking at it, trying frantically to get some of the medicine to his lungs as he reached out and slammed his hand down on the lock button for the car door. If the panicked look in his eyes was any indication, the meds were getting nowhere close to where they were supposed to be.

"Sam. Listen to me..You've got to calm down. It's okay. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you now, I promise. I'm here."

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, a tear slipping out from under his defenses. His breathing got worse.

Without knowing what else to do, I reached behind him and leaned him back into my chest. "All right, listen to me, Sammy," I told him, keeping my voice calm and level. I could see his face reflecting off the window. Man, he looked scared. But he was listening. "If we don't get this under control, you're going to wind up in the hospital. You want to go to the hospital?" He quickly shook his head. I could feel his chest heaving up and down as he sucked in each painful, labored, shallow breath. "I didn't think so. So you're going to make your breaths last the count of three, okay?"

I took the inhaler from his shaking hands and held it to his mouth. "Breathe it in. Let it get all the way down. Hold it. Come, on Sam. You're okay. You're doing all right, kid."

It took ten minutes of me coaching and him working past his independent instincts enough to let me help him for his breathing to level off. I think if it wasn't for the fact that he was cold, apparently sick and scared half to death, he would've died before letting me help him. We sat there for a moment, concentrating on breathing. He was nearly dead weight against my chest. "You okay?"

He took another shaky breath. Held it. The words "Fine. Sorry," came out as he exhaled.

"There's no reason to be. But I think maybe we should swing by the hospital."

"No." Ugh, he sounded almost betrayed.

"Sam…"

"You said…we only had to go if I didn't…start breathing. I'm breathing. No hospital." He waited a beat. "So please let go of me and let's drive away now. Far, far away. Right now. Please."

I sighed as he awkwardly sat up away from me, keeping his eyes lowered in a way that I couldn't possibly have mistaken for an invitation to talk about anything that just happened. Of course when I opened the door to change seats, the overhead light came on, and I got a full view of my baby brother's black and swelling eye. "What the hell, Sam!"

He winced and lowered his head further. "Can we not…talk right now?"

I bit my lip, anger clenching my hands into fists at my sides, thankful he wasn't looking at me. When I thought about what happened, what some punk kids just put my brother through….No way was I letting this go. But he looked so exhausted, and so broken, and so very, very…alone, I didn't have the heart to press him for details right then.

"Sure," I said softly.

He nodded. "'kay."

I sat down behind the wheel and drove, checking on my passenger every chance I got. He lost his battle with sleep almost as soon as we got out of that nightmarish neighborhood, stretched out on the backseat, my coat pulled up to his chin. And I thought, wow, with a smile. When Sammy needed someone, he immediately came to me. And I wouldn't have it any other way. No matter what, I will always be there for my baby brother.


End file.
